


Ghosts of the Past

by Netherworld



Category: Mass Effect, Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-18
Updated: 2016-08-18
Packaged: 2018-08-09 15:49:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7807888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Netherworld/pseuds/Netherworld
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An ‘in medias res’ of the hostage situation with Tevos and Udina, and its consequences. A look at what might have spurred Tevos to stand up to High Command and tell Shepard about the beacon. Naturally, Aria is involved. Rated T for swearing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ghosts of the Past

Udina.

It was always fucking Udina.

There was an electric quality to the air raking down her throat. Shepard knew it well, but didn’t have the breath to scream a warning. _Fuck._

A moment later, Kei Leng materialized out of nothing, blade poised to slice Valern in half. Mind running a thousand miles a second, she knew she couldn’t get the shot off in time. Not when the salarian was between her and the cereal-eating piece of shit.

 _Fuck,_ she thought again, choking back a sob of frustration. If only she had any breath left.

Then a blurred fist caught the smirking bastard in the jaw. The strike sent him stumbling into the glass wall, and he fell through the pane in a shower of keen shards. Shepard skidded to a halt, heavy soles scraping spit-sheen floors.

_“Thane?”_

She wanted to help him, wanted to put a hole between Leng’s eyes, but couldn’t. Couldn’t risk clipping her friend, _goddammit_. Shepard screamed, lowering the muzzle of her Carnifex when Liara’s palm found her shoulder.

“There’s nothing we can do, Jane.” Shepard could hear her voice, her _Shadow Broker voice_ , and closed her eyes. T’soni was right, of course. T’soni was always right, even when Shepard wished desperately she weren’t.

“Liara.” Her feet were pounding the ground again at full-tilt. Like it or not – and she liked it – Shepard had a sniveling politician to kill. There would be time to catch her breath later. Before they ran into another Cerberus squad, she force out the choppy sentence. “Call Aria.”

“What? Why?” Liara asked, but her surprise was short-lived. “Shepard, watch out!”

They came sprinting around a corner into a hail of bullets. A slug caught her in the side even as she threw herself behind a desk, Liara and Garrus close on her heels. They landed hard, but they were still in one piece. Give or take a pound of flesh, they’d be fine.

The Shepard-Vakarian duo shared an instant of eye contact, then sprang up, guns blazing. The asari darted out here and there, breaking the cohesion of the Cerberus troops with a couple of well-placed singularities. They picked the floaters off with ease, putting them to sleep with the time-honored double tap. Before they knew it, the trio were running again. Every minute spent exchanging fire was a minute more that Udina could exploit.

She poured the anger at the thought into her aching legs, pushing forward. _I’ll rest when I’m dead._

“Liara. _Aria_ ,” she grunted between breaths as they beelined for the elevators. Garrus quickly took to bypassing another door, and the asari brought up her omnitool. Its orange glow bathed the party as it rang. Once. Twice. Shepard met Liara’s gaze, feeling her skin crawl. “Do you think she’s—”

::Athame’s tits, T’Soni! I’m a little busy here!::

Distorted sounds screams poured over the line along with Aria’s sharp voice. She turned away to bark orders at someone, and the tremor of a distant explosion followed soon after. ::What the fuck do you want, Blue?:: Icy eyes peered through the jittery connection and over her shoulder. ::Shepard. Should’ve guessed. Same question, though – what’s so fucking important?::

“Kai Leng. Executor’s office,” said the Spectre as Liara shoved the omnitool at her.

Glacial silence. Shepard stared at the stone-set jaw of the asari, suddenly glad the criminal was on their side. The static of gunfire was interrupted by a soft _ding._ Garrus visibly flinched, turning to see the door slide open with a hiss. The hall beyond was empty – thank god for small blessings.

“Aria?” ventured Liara, looking back at Shepard again.

The Omegan never answered. A crack like a warp of epic proportions echoed through the connection, and the call cut out. The trio were left standing in the foreboding silence, now well and truly alone.

“She’ll be fine,” said Shepard after a moment, ushering them towards the elevator. “It’s Aria fucking T’Loak, come on. If anyone can chase down that fucker on a station crawling with Cerberus, it’s her.” As long as she lived, Jane would never forget the expression on Aria’s face when she’d choked the life out of Petrovsky. “By the time we’re done that bitch’ll already be lounging on her couch.”

”Getting drunk?”

Liara asked with a minute smile. Shepard groaned.

”It was _one time,_ Li. Nothing happened!”

”Oh, I know. We had a little chat, me and Aria.”

”Aria T’Loak _chatted?”_ asked the turian, his mandibles twitching in amusement.

”Well… if you must know, she was mostly quiet. And smirking.” Liara punched the button for their floor with more force than necessary. “Athame, that woman is so infuriating sometimes. I will never understand what the inhabitants of that station see in her.”

”It’s good you don’t live there, then,” Shepard muttered. The second the doors closed behind them, she melted against the wall and closed her eyes. _Just a second_.

”Shepard,” Liara said as she glanced around. “Don’t fall asleep. We’re almost there.” The asari squeezed her shoulder, then began carving their way onto the roof with biotics.

Garrus reached over to shake her awake. “Need some calibrating, Commander?”

They shared a short, absurd laugh. Some of the tension in her muscles left with the graceless snort, and she sent a grateful look at the turian. He only gave a subtle shake of his head and climbed through the hole. The human followed, and they both helped Liara up despite her muttered threats.

“We’re strategically disadvantaged.”

“Astute, Vakarian.”

It was true, though. No cover and a gaping pit of hell on either side. One misstep, and they’d save themselves the trouble of this goddamn war. Shepard peered over while reloading, almost tempted to lean just a little further. She was bone-tired, bleeding, broken in more places than she cared to count. All of this, and it just slowed the Reapers down. As if it weren’t hopeless enough, the Illusive Man had to go crazy too…

A familiar warmth enveloped her from behind. She leaned into Liara for a precious moment, filling her lungs with air for what seemed like the first time since this whole madness began. The asari slowly pulled away, but not before she heard Shepard whisper a silent “Thank you.”

A rumble from below jerked them all to the present.

“More elevators incoming!” As he spoke, Garrus shot out the power conduits with his keen aim, stilling the first car in its tracks. It gave them enough time to turn around and intercept the one on the right. A Phantom glitched over the gap, evading the blast of a grenade Shepard had hurled. He never managed to stick the landing, though – a stasis caught the jumpy bastard straight above the chasm.

In the next instant Liara yanked her biotics away. The soldier plummeted to his death without a sound.

“Good riddance.”

Didn’t matter who said it; they all thought it. Other elevators came, packed with more forces, but they held them off. At one point, Vakarian almost got sent over by a high-caliber bullet. Shepard had yelled ‘bullet magnet’ at his scarred, grinning mug, and nearly suffered the same fate for her moment of distraction.

After what seemed like hours, the group staggered through the door at the top. Every set of armor was now sporting a fresh set of dents and holes. Liara had caught an incendiary round to the shoulder. Garrus was clutching his chest where the slug had cracked his ribs. Shepard was limping from a knife wound in her shin – the courtesy of a spiteful soldier who’d tried to take her down with him. And despite this – despite the bloodloss and the scars and the pounding, bitter ache – Jane couldn’t be happier.

Except maybe when she splattered Udina’s brain all over the wall.

“Stop right there,” she called out, mustering what little energy she had left.

All the movement on the platform ground to a halt. As one, the Councilors turned to face the source of the gravelly threat. The three politicians stared at her with varying degrees of bemusement and anger.

Before any of them could speak, the Spectre bodily placed herself between them. “What the hell are you doing, Shepard?”

“Ash, stay out of my way. Udina’s finally outdone himself. This?” she waved around, “this fucking coup is _his_ handiwork. Old Donny here sold us all out to Cerberus.” Sneering, Shepard looked back at the the human Councilor. “Do you know how many people died because of you? Do you, you piece of shit?!”

“Shepard, that’s crazy. I need proof, I can’t just—”

“That’s it! She’s finally gone insane, clearly!” Udina accused from behind the Spectre, beady eyes open wide. Ashley glanced back and forth between them, expression growing ever more severe.

“Enough of your lies!” Shepard roared, leveling her gun at Udina. Her nostrils flared, and there it was again. _Electricity._

There was no Thane to save Tevos as Udina whipped out a gun of his own. But before either of them could pull the trigger, the air crackled, and everything went white.

Shepard grasped for the railing, blinded by the sudden burst of light. A voice behind her – Garrus, she realized – was hissing profanities in turian. It was Liara’s hand that finally steadied her again. “Give it a moment, Jane. It will pass.”

Her eyes adjusted, and Shepard gaped.

Udina was now pinned to the far wall, encased in a harsh field of blue biotics. Their wielder was measuring him with the iciest stare Shepard had ever seen. Could swear there was a thin layer of frost over Tevos’ features. The human tried to struggle, but it was all in vain. The energy around him held fast, tightening with every attempt to break free.

“Really, Shepard?” Liara laughed behind her. “The Councilor is still an asari. We are never helpless.”

The Commander could only nod.

“Quite, miss T’Soni.” The asari in question nodded, but her eyes never left Udina.

Predatory, too. Shepard couldn’t remember Tevos ever using that tone of voice in any of their meetings. Decided right then and there she was eternally grateful for it. Hero or no hero, that timbre made her blood go cold.

“Spectre Williams,” the Councilor spoke again.

”Yes, ma’am?” Ashley snapped to attention, looking as surprised as Shepard felt.

”Would you escort this man to sector six, please?”

Ashley paled. “Sector six, ma’am?”

“Sector six.” Tevos confirmed with a mild smile as the Spectre cuffed the protesting human. “I will personally oversee this interrogation. A fellow Councilor deserves nothing less, wouldn’t you agree?”

“But, ma’am…” Williams trailed off, unsure. Tevos quirked an expectant brow. “Isn’t he still a citizen?”

“Hardly.” The asari measured the human with a long stare, then spoke again. “Whoever, owing allegiance to Council space, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, providing them aid within Council space or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title; furthermore they shall be stripped of their citizenship in Council space, and their assets permanently frozen. Article seventy-four of the Internal Security Act, Spectre Williams. Do as I say.”

Shepard followed the argument with narrowing eyes. She didn’t know whether it was shock, admiration, or fear keeping her bolted in place. The Commander didn’t move as the regal asari swept past, features grim. Those eyes reminded Jane of something – of some _one_. No matter how much she raked her memory, her brain refused to cooperate. As adrenaline ebbed in her bloodstream, Shepard stumbled. She caught herself against the rail and waved away Liara’s look of concern.

“I’m fine. Dandy.” She spared a glance after Tevos and Ashley, but their elevator had already departed. If the Councilor’s expression was anything to go by, Udina was better off with a bullet in his forehead. Shepard shook her head. It wasn’t her problem anymore. God knew she had enough of those already. “Let’s get out of here.”

On their ride down, she listened to her squadmates with closed eyes. Would’ve slept right through it, if Vakarian hadn’t asked a question that gnawed at Shepard just as much.

”What the hell is sector six, Liara?”

* * *

Sector six, as it turned out, was a dark, secluded portion of the Citadel. And, as Ashley found out soon enough, only accessible through credentials she hadn’t even heard of. For the first time in months the panel remained red when she pressed her palm against it. The Councilor bid the door open in her stead, and they continued down, deeper into the bowels of the ancient station.

Williams had never been there before, and with each step inside she realized there was a good reason for it. Becoming a Spectre had dispelled any lingering illusions about how the Council operated under the veneer of cordiality. Just like with any other government, there were secrets lurking beneath the still surface of the water.

Secrets she’d rather leave undisturbed.

As if reading her mind, the asari Councilor spoke up. “You can leave us now, Spectre Williams. My escort is arriving.”

True to her words, Ashley turned and saw a lone, burly man approaching them from a side corridor. A closer look revealed a familiar name on his chest, and her tight-wound posture relaxed. It was Bailey’s second-in-command, who’d emerged from the HQ massacre in far better shape than his superior.

They exchanged a look and a respectful shake of hands, and then Williams hightailed out of sector six as if a horde of husks were on her heels. The officer grabbed Udina’s cuffed hands and shoved him forward, every trace of kindness erased from his face. Together with the Councilor, he marched the traitor off to the cells.

The second Udina’s blindfold came off, he started begging for mercy. He pleaded intel and names in exchange for protection. Tevos maintained her flinty facade, unmoved. Even to his own ears, his voice sounded high-pitched and weak. He swallowed, sagging in his chair.

Without looking away, Tevos commanded. “Gag him.”

The officer shot her an incredulous look. She met it with a level gaze of her own. “Yes, Heller?”

He wet his lips. After a moment of hesitation, he moved to fulfil her order. Udina struggled, uselessly. It was becoming a pattern.

“I thought you wanted a personal interrogation, Madam Councilor,” he spoke, searching her eyes for something. Anything. The asari didn’t reply. Her heels clicked on the plain metal floor as she paced around Udina in slow circles. The single light above them cast long shadows across the cell, painting them both in sharp contrast.

Finally, the Councilor stopped and looked up. “Call Aria.”

“Ma’am?”

”Did I stutter, Heller?”

He shook his head no. Unlike Shepard, he remembered where he’d seen that glare before. Also unlike Shepard, he had the advantage of receiving it far more often, and knew exactly what happened if its demands weren’t met.

“Then do us both a favor and cut the crap. Call Aria,” she said and turned back to Udina. “Tell her she was right.”

* * *

The asari left the cell some two hours later, alone. Human blood clung wetly to her clenched fists, mingling with the violet that seeped from her own abused flesh. Her designer clothes were splattered with similar shades of red, dried to a rusty hue in places. She stalked past an occupied chair without a word. With curt movements, she poured herself a tall glass of some obscenely expensive Thessian alcohol. Sat down. Threw back the drink. Wiped her knuckles into her ruined clothing.

“It’s done,” she said.

And then finally, Aria T’Loak deigned to look at Tevos Kemadis.

Decades passed between them in that one gaze. Jaws flexed, lips thinned. Tevos sighed. “What do you expect me to say, Aria?”

If at all possible, the criminal’s features grew even more hostile. With a pinched expression, she downed the rest of her drink. Fine cracks webbed through the glass when she set it back down on the table. As she pulled back her hand, the Councilor could see purple and red stains marring the crystal. She frowned.

“Aria.”

“Don’t fucking ‘Aria’ me.”

Instead of rising to the words, Tevos smoothed her dress. Somehow, it had survived the chaos of the day with only a couple of wrinkles to show for it. The Councilor levitated the tumbler out of Aria’s reach with a wave of her hand, still observing her lap.

“This is a fucking joke. First that Cerberus kavipa escapes, and now you—”

The Omegan sneered, corrupted asari dialect bleeding through the struggling translator.

“Aria,” Tevos reiterated, ignoring her seething glare. “Be reasonable about this. I acknowledge it’s been a while, but this is hardly the time to cling to old grudges. Even you, in your inexhaustible self-confidence, must realize this.”

“A while? It’s been two fucking centuries.”

“I know, Aria. But it doesn’t change the fact of what’s happening _now.”_

“Stop saying that.”

“Saying what?”

“That fucking name, Councilor.”

A beat of silence passed between them as Tevos beheld her with an inscrutable gaze. “Hypocrisy doesn’t become you, Aria. You should stick to conceit.”

“I said stop!” The yell sent the Omegan to her feet, every muscle in her body taut like a wire. Anybody else would have gone rigid with fear at the storms brewing behind Aria’s glacial eyes. Yet the Councilor met her annihilating gaze with calm composure – perhaps even with the hint of a smile. The other asari flexed her bruised fingers, willing wisps of foreboding violet into existence.

Tevos cocked her head to the side, issuing a blatant challenge to the Terminus warlord. “I’m not one of your minions, Aria. You can’t intimidate me, and you don’t _have_ to, for Goddess’ sake. We’re on the same side.”

Aria scowled. “Are we?”

“Of course. We’ve had our differences, admittedly, but—”

“Tevos. You wanted to shoot Omega out of the fucking sky.”

The Councilor folded her hands. “We’ve had this discussion already. Three times, to be perfectly exact. The galaxy is burning around us as we speak, and all you can think about is that damn station? Why, Aria?”

“I’m too old for this,” the asari hissed, gripping the edge of her seat in frustration. “I promised myself I’d never go through this again – and look at me now. Is it just how you are,Tevos? Or is it me?” She shoved away from the chair and turned her back to the politician.

”Every time… every fucking time I believe you—” Aria bit off the rest of the sentence, shoulders stiff like steel beneath her white jacket. “But you never change.”

Her posture fell. Gone was the fire, gone were the fists. “You said I was right. Guess that was just another of your fucking ploys, wasn’t it, Councilor? Get the nice criminal down here to do your dirty work for you?” She back around, voice and eyes trembling with an anger she could hardly contain. “How very _noble_ of you, Tevos.”

The regal asari flinched. A strange sadness flickered in her green eyes as she turned her gaze away. “No. I meant what I said.”

Her meticulous mien crumbled before the last syllable left her lips. Aria took a step back as she witnessed the stark change. It was as if the Councilor had set aside her impassive mask, revealing all the emotions that frayed her soul. Even the intricate white tattoos couldn’t conceal the sleepless circles beneath her eyes, nor the lines of worry etched into her skin.

“You look—” _fucking exhausted._

“Quite,” Tevos said with a wry little smile and stood to help herself to a drink. “I really did mean it, you know,” she spoke as she poured a healthy measure into Aria’s bloodied glass. “The prestige blinded me. This place, this office… it poisons your mind. I became complacent.” Tevos squeezed her eyes shut at the sting of shame. “And I almost paid the price.”

For years – decades – the warlord entertained herself with the scenario. She’d parade the conversation through her head as she sampled some expensive libation, momentarily bored in the absence of any pressing administrative duties. In those evenings where the loneliness of being revered by millions brought too bitter a taste to her mouth, the imagined victory would invariably chase it away. And in all of these thoughts, Aria had always emerged triumphant in the end – as if there was something to be won; something to be gained, or conquered, or subsumed.

But in the shadow of the Reapers, ‘I told you so’ sounded rather hollow.

And it wasn’t even a war. Athame knew they’d both seen enough of those to tell the difference. It was a _slaughter_. An enemy that weaponized their fallen in a perversion of sentient life. An enemy with an intelligence they couldn’t comprehend, and therefore couldn’t fight against. For all her centuries of experience in every manner of conflict, Aria could offer no worthy insight.

“Never forget where you come from,” she spoke at last. The Councilor chuckled. It was a dry sound, raw and worn. Like she had nothing more to give, yet refused the throes of despair out of sheer spite.

“Are you… quoting me, Aria?” Tevos asked with an incredulous stare. “To _myself?”_

“Yes.”

“I— I never thought you read that.” She clutched at her glass. “So all this time… you’ve known? You’ve known, and you said nothing?”

“Yes.”

Tevos raised a palm to her mouth. For a long while, neither asari spoke. The Councilor downed the rest of her drink and set the tumbler on the table with a loud clatter. “And now here we are. At the end of the universe.”

The warlord said nothing. She didn’t look away, though.

“What a fucking joke.”

Aria made an amused noise, finally breaking her silence. “Watch it, Tevos. That’s my line.”

The Councilor met her eyes with a slow shake of her head. “I’ve been sitting on my ass too long. There are things I need to do. _Ignoble_ things.” Her features hardened with every word that left her lips, until only ice remained.

Aria remembered that look. It still sent shivers down her spine. Once upon a time, it meant that heads would start rolling. Centuries might have changed and tempered both, but she still wouldn’t wish it on her worst enemy. Cerberus, however… they deserved the storm that was coming their way. She could see it looming in the dark edges of her green eyes; in the subtle curl of her lips, straddling the edge of delight and malice. She could see her chained fury in every minute gesture, and it was like looking at a mirror.

The Queen of Omega had, after all, learned from the best.

Tevos reached forward and caught Aria’s hand in her own. She stroked an affectionate thumb over her bruised knuckles, and for a moment, her severe expression thawed.

“Thank you, _Aleena,_ ” she murmured against her crest and pressed a soft kiss to a blood-spattered cheek. “For reminding me that we’re still alive. That this isn’t over.” A breath passed between them and then in a flurry of robes, Tevos was gone.

Aria was left standing there, with nothing but a corpse and the ghosts of the past to keep her company.

**Author's Note:**

> 12 Feb 2018 update: Made a few minor tweaks and expanded on some dialogue to better reflect my evolving headcanon.


End file.
